


You Have A Raven

by flandersmare



Series: Figrid February 2016 [3]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempted Sexual Assault, Day 3, F/M, Fígrid February, Social Media, council meetings, dating apps, international politics, it's got to be really tough being a royal and just trying to get a date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 12:02:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5927629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flandersmare/pseuds/flandersmare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being 22 and starting to shoulder some of the responsibilities of a Crown Princess of Dale and Lake Town, Her Royal Highness, Princess Sigrid, has a way of coping. And another name - LadyoftheLake. </p><p>Or.</p><p>I'd like to think international representatives didn't do this sort of thing at summits, but to be honest I wouldn't put it past them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Have A Raven

**Author's Note:**

> Eternal love and gratitude all all good things in the world to zathuraroy5 (Emilie), who has wrestled this fic to the ground and made it behave itself. She retro-actively beta-ed this mess, going through it with a fine toothed comb and untangling everything that happens when you mix dyslexia, a 4:30am posting, three nights on little sleep and many, many feels. Thank you my dear, you are a queen forever in my eyes. 
> 
> You can find her in the comments, go throw roses at her please.
> 
> Yes this is several days late. No, pay no attention to the post date. This is Day 3 of Figrid February.
> 
> Heads up - There are references in this. Sorry but that's what I do.  
> Shows referened are:  
> Leverage - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leverage_(TV_series  
> Pushing Daisies - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushing_Daisies  
> Both very good, very unique series. If you haven't seen them, check them out. Their runs are finished and Pushing Daisies has a baby Lee Pace who bakes pies for a living.  
> Song referenced:  
> Greek Fire's - Top of the World - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUhEOnr87_I

Sigrid smiled as pleasantly as she could manage as she showed the fourth consecutive security guard her identification. Then the contents of her briefcase. Then all the electronics on her person. Then the paperwork in the manila folder that she gripped to her chest like it was her maiden virtue. Four checks. For about 200 yards of hallway.

Admittedly, a very beautiful hallway. Every time she was frisked, by an undoubtedly very statuesque security personnel, she had a new wonderful view to occupy her. Balconies overlooking running rivers, slightly wild and beautiful gardens and gorgeous little alcoves and cloisters and places to hide away in…. OK, in hindsight, possibly a good thing that every inch of this lovely place was being inspected for sources of danger.

The guard finally handed her back her briefcase and folder and Sigrid pushed through the checkpoint towards the double doors that waited at the end of the hall. Which was flanked, again, by security.

Sigrid didn’t even make eye contact this time, just held up her I.D. between two fingers and flashed it from one side to the other, long enough for each of the guards to read ‘Her Royal Highness’ and shouldered the doors open.

The conference room of the Imladris Parliamentary Buildings was already half-full. Delegates from all the kingdoms of Middle Earth milled around; chatting, networking or noticeably avoiding one another. This was Sigrid’s first United Realms General Assembly in which she was attending on her own as a representative of Dale and Lake Town. She ought to be wracked with nerves but by now she was more irritated than agitated. She did her best to walk unobtrusively down the aisle to her seat in the third tier, settling down and arranging her kit; notepad, smart phone, her own headphones for the real time translation transmissions, water bottle. She clicked her biro a few times and settled in for a few minutes of people watching.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

President Peredhil stopped by to speak to her just before taking to the floor for his general welcome address. Sigrid had stood up, smoothing down her pencil skirt and offered out her hand for his. He’d smiled gently at her and had drawn her into a hug across desk. ‘I’m so glad to see you doing so well, Your Royal Highness,’ he said, twinkling at her as he held her at arm's’ length. ‘Are you all ready for your first conference?’

‘Yes Sir.’ Sigrid smiled but her annoyance from earlier had cooled off and now fear was starting to claw at her stomach.

Elrond just looked at her with that gaze of his and squeezed her hands. ‘You will be just fine,’ he reassured her, dropping her hands with a smile and walking to the central podium.

There was a smattering of applause that grew as Elrond made it behind the stand, nearly covering the banging of double doors as a late comer barrelled in and dove into a seat in the second row on the opposite bank of tiers.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sigrid tried to pay attention. She tried. But oh sweet mercy, she was getting so tired of listening to Rhudaur and Arthedain sniping at each other. As she watch the two short, curly headed men, she wondered just how badly it would go for her if she screamed ‘get a room’ at them. Da owed her, owed her big. Damn him, and damn Thranduil of Mirkwood. Oh, she was thrilled that Da had found happiness and Thranduil was so good for him. And OK she was going to have to take on more responsibilities but what ever happened to easing into it?

She was 22 now, she was no longer a child, and it was so petty to wish for a normal life when she had more privilege than she knows what to do with but -

Her smart phone buzzed on the table top and she slapped her hand down on it to muffle the rattle. Flicking a quick look left and right, she slipped her phone of the table top and into her lap, bringing up her home page. She had to fight down a grin as she went through her Raven notifications.

He’d replied.   

Her fingers shook a little as she swiped up. There he was. Well, as much of him as she’d ever seen. One stormy blue eye and a golden eyebrow.

 **ML** _\- Hiya, how’s your morning going?_

Sigrid cast another quick look around. Elrond was still standing at his post, in a fantastic effort to not rub at his temples as Rhudaur and Arthedain continued to bitch at each other and no one else was paying much attention. 

 **LotL** \- _First day on the job and my brain is numb with boredom and fear._

He didn’t know who she was, obviously. Like a Crowned Princess could idly flick through a, well, to put it crudely, a dating app. Well, it wasn’t exactly a dating app, but it was good for chatting and making friends. And she may have fallen for _MountainLion_ in the 10 or so months they’d been chatting. He was kind, very understanding when she couldn’t get to her phone for days at a time, and he made her laugh.

 **ML** _\- Good grief, really that bad?_

 **LotL** _\- Yes that bad. Two of my new co-workers will just not quit it. They’ve been low-key screaming at each other for 45 minutes now._

 **ML** _\- Urgh, know the feel. Lecture’s ground to a complete halt because two dick-wads won’t stop bickering over, like, one citation._

Sigrid smiled a little as she looked around the room again. Elrond was in the process of trying to tame the Rhudaur/Arthedain situation. Sigrid could tell that it wasn’t going to end smoothly for him. Sure enough, at the intrusion of President Peredhil, the two delegates all but stood back to back and started in on him.

 **LotL** _– I swear to god, these two just need to fuck it out._

Sigrid snapped fully up right when there was a strangled sort of noise that turned into a hacking cough on the other side of the room. The two on one yelling match paid it no mind. She craned a little to see if the cougher was alright. His shoulders shook a little but his attention seemed fixed on his own phone.

 **ML** _– I think these two here could do with a little of that too. They’ve started in on the prof and oooooh it’s getting ugly._

 **LotL** _– Hair pulling? Name calling?_

 **ML** _– It’s like watching two jack russells go at a malamute. He’s just taking it but at any point now the paw’s gonna come down._

The bark that President Peredhil gave when his patience finally snapped startled Sigrid so much she nearly dropped her phone. Elrond stood white faced and scowling on the dais, the two delegates un-cowed but mercifully quiet.

 **ML** _– Whomp, there it is! Alpha has spoken._

She huffed a shaky little laugh, too rattled to type back anything more eloquent than a _LOL_.

 **ML** _– By the Maker, I wish I could hear you laugh._

Sigrid’s blood chilled almost against her will. She bit her lip hard and closed her eyes against the rushing in her ears.

 **LotL** _– I’m sorry, I can’t, we’ve talked about-_

The type was coming through faster than she could keep up.

 **ML** _– I know, I know. I’m sorry. Yes, you’re right, we’ve talked about this. And you have every right to your privacy. Sorry, moment of weakness got the better of me._

Sigrid stared at the message, the happy buzz that unfailingly wrapped around her with these conversations dissolving away. In truth, she wanted him to tell her where he was right this moment so she could drop everything and run to him. She’d never met him and yet she wanted nothing more than to throw off the title and be with him. Sigrid groaned softly and dropped her head into one hand to hide her over-bright eyes as best she could.

This was so stupid. She was 22, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Dale and Lake Town, and she’d never been kissed because how in the name of all things good and green in the realm can you take your first coltish steps into romance when everything you do or say is put under a microscope? She couldn’t afford to have her heart broken. Even if it was by her own hands for a man who she’s never met.

She was not going to cry. Not here. She could see Legolas a row down and a few seats along trying to catch her eye.

 **ML** _– Nimue?_

 **ML** _– Nimue, I sorry._

 **LotL** _– It’s OK Simba. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry too._

Sigrid jumped a little as all around her chairs scrapped as they were pushed back and papers were shuffled and packed away. Hastily she wiped at her eyes and started packing away her barely touched notes.

 **LotL** _– Just to let you know, it’ll be radio silence for a bit on this end. Breaking for lunch and I’m going to lose signal._

It was a harmless lie she’d had to use more times than she wanted to think about before any period she’d not have access to her phone. _MountainLion_ must think she lived in a black hole.

 **ML** _– Nimue?_

Sigrid wanted so badly to reach out and take hold of a hand that wasn’t there.

 **LotL** _– I’m not bolting on you. I promise. I’ll never do that again to you._

 **ML** _– Thank you. Take care. xx_

Sigrid bit her lip at the sight of the two kiss but resolutely shoved her phone into her jacket pocket and stood up. She needed a cup of tea. She followed the flow of people out of a second set of doors into another room where a buffet lunch had been lain out. She cast the delegate from Erebor a sympathetic look. He was thumping his forehead repeatedly off the desk in front of him.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sigrid hadn’t ever really experienced the whole ‘wanting to chew off your own leg to escape a snare’ situation before but she now understood the sentiment.

On a spiritual level.

Azog Dol Guldur and his son Bolg had cornered her at an unoccupied table she’d sat at to go over the mess that was her notes. She'd been mulling over the aching gap that was the distance between who she was and a normal relationship with anyone, ever, when suddenly there’d been a plate dropped onto her crib sheet and a voice that made her skin crawl asking ‘mind if we join you?’, with no indication that if an answer was forthcoming it would be observed. Now Azog was asking barbed and loaded questions about where her father was, and what or rather who he was doing and Bolg was giving her a look that made her want to bathe in acid to get it out of her skin. Suddenly Azog’s meaty hand was on her knee and Sigrid’s jaw tightened so much she was astonished that she didn’t crack a tooth. She could feel herself trembling and by the leer on his face, Azog could feel it too. Her grip of the cheese knife stashed up her sleeve tightened.

‘Hey! Gundabad!’

Both the pale faces that had been trained on Sigrid as if they were hounds on point, slowly swayed, reptile like, to observe the new-comer. Sigrid didn’t recognise him immediately; older than her Da, walking with a pronounced limp, red hair streaked with white and a beard you could lose a badger in. But she recognised a rescue attempt when she saw it. His Iron Hills accent was so thick she could barely understand what he was saying, but whatever it was, it enraged Dol Guldur. In the ensuing explosion, Sigrid swept all her notes into her briefcase and stood as fast as she could.

‘Your Royal Highness.’

Sigrid very nearly embarrassed herself but thankfully didn’t scream when the delegate from Erebor appeared besides her offering an elbow. She took it gratefully and let him steer while she concentrated on slackening her grip on the blade in her hand without slicing herself. She deposited it onto a table as they passed and they stopped at the table where tea and coffee was being served.

‘Tea or coffee?’ he asked her gently.

‘Tea please.’

Soon she was seated at a table near the door with a steaming cup of tea and a friendly if unfamiliar face in front of her. Well, he wasn’t familiar, but she knew who he was.

‘Thank you very much Your Royal Highness.’

Crown Prince Fili of Erebor gave her a reassuring smile. ‘You’re welcome. Are you alright? He hasn’t harmed you, has he? Well, you know, umm,’ he started to stumble over his own tongue a little, and his hand went into his hair. ‘Umm, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to come in all ‘white knight’ but I panicked and you looked like you were trying to set him on fire with your brain, so Dain stepped in.’ He cast a look over his shoulder to the shouting that was starting to draw attention from all over the room.

‘No, I appreciate the rescue, thank you. I don’t think Da would be impressed if I went all ‘Parker’ on someone my first solo flight and stabbed someone with cutlery.’

‘Parker?’, Fili asked in a strange voice and Sigrid could already feel the blush growing. Great, she’d showed her true colours as a great big nerd.

‘ _Leverage_?’

Sigrid very nearly gaped at him. Instead she settled for staring. ‘Yes. Yes, have you watched it?’

‘I love that show! Everyday I’m looking for the opportunity to say ‘We be the cavalry’.’ Fili grinned at her, his smile boyish and huge.

Sigrid’s returning smile was smaller but no less brilliant. ‘You had the perfect opportunity today, you can say it in retrospect, I bet it would still count. Eliot would approve in any case.’

Fili tried it, in the most rumbling Rohirrim accent he could manage, which had Sigrid clamping her hands over her mouth trying to smother a very unladylike laugh. She missed Fili’s smile softening and his head cocking slightly to the side, but Dain was back, flushed from victory or from yelling, it was hard to tell, but he seemed happy enough.

She spent the rest of the hour sitting with Fili and Dain, gradually tuning into the Iron Hills accent like her brain was a temperamental radio. Once she could understand him, the man turned out to be a riot. He plied her with stories and anecdotes and tidbits of information about the occupants of the room until she could set the teacup back into its saucer without the china rattling. Fili offered insight every now and again, never moving out of immediate reach of her and actually standing and putting himself between her and the Gundabad delegation when they were escorted from the room by security.

Legolas hurried over as soon as the news of what had happened had reached him. He gave her a quick hug and proceeded to fuss over her even as she attempted to bat him away and the dark haired girl accompanying him sniggered at him. She in turn was fussed over when President Peredhil reappeared for call everyone back into the conference room.

Sigrid stood and, manners fleeing her for a moment, caught hold of Prince Fili’s elbow. ‘I just wanted to say again, thank you.’

Fili smiled as he reached for the hand curled around her elbow. He gently extracted his arm and squeezed her hand between his own. ‘You are quite welcome.’ He quirked a brow at her, his stormy blue eyes laughing, ‘You’ll just have to work on your jedi mind tricks and learn to choke people with The Force before the next summit.’

‘Alas,’ Sigrid sighed theatrically, ‘I am but the Padawan. Maybe I should have a braid behind my ear.’

She smiled and turned to move back into the conference room, missing Fili’s blink and expression that indicated that he was thinking about her hair more than really necessary at that moment.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 **LotL** _– I’m back._

 **ML** _– Hey, how was lunch?_

 **LotL** _– Bit of a rollercoaster._

 **ML** _– Oh?_

 **LotL** _– I think I experienced my first case of sexual assault in the workplace…_

 **ML** _– WHAT!? Are you alright? Please tell me you are not hurt!_

 **LotL** _– I’m unharmed, just shaken up._

 **ML** _– Oh thank the Maker!_

 **ML** _– Next question: Where is the bastard so I can kill him? Have you reported him?_

 **LotL** _– There were witnesses and he was taken away by security. The others rallied round me like I was the baby penguin in the middle of the huddle._

 **ML** _– Good to hear, but where is he? I have ways and means at my disposal, I mean it._

 **LotL** _– My boss has handed him over to the authorities._

Sigrid chewed her lip anxiously. If diplomatic immunity stretched to this, she’d set Azog on fire herself. With her brain or the old fashioned way if needs be. 

 **ML** _– Had a similar situation here in the library. The epitome of ‘scum bag’ cornered a new girl who was still finding her feet. Got in there before it got REALLY nasty but she would have been well within her rights to stab him._

 **ML** _– ARGH! Every time I hear a story of someone enduring this sort of thing from a man, I want to burn the patriarchy to the ground and salt the earth!_

 **ML** _– I really want to give you a hug right now._

 **LotL** _– Your Mama raised you right. Is the girl alright?_

 **ML** _– Damn right. And she seems OK. Looks like she’s a tough cookie._

 **LotL** _– 20 lbs of crazy in a 5 lbs bag?_

 **ML** _– 20 lbs of crazy in a 5 lbs bag._

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 **LotL** – _Simba? You there? I’m so bored. It’s death by PowerPoint over here._

Sigrid couldn’t remember which number out of how many they were on, but her brain was starting to feel like a wrung sponge. Where were they now, Gondor? Something about funding issues with regards to listed buildings? She didn’t really know anymore. And it’s day one of four, oh the joy…. Actually, it wasn’t a good indicator of her stamina levels if she was flagging after this long. She just needed some fresh air, that’s all. She wasn’t sure when she was going to get it, but she’d be fine once she got it, she’d be sure. She just wasn’t used to office work yet. She spent pretty much all daylight hours outside. She idly ran her fingertip over her phone screen, watching as her profile picture bounced about. She was quite fond of that pic; it was her, back facing the camera, on the edge of Long Lake with her hair down. It was just her, the wind, the water and the sky.

Sigrid jerked a little as there was a lacklustre smattering of clapping as the representative from Gondor stood down and the next presentation was being hitched up. There was shuffling movement in the seats on the far side of the room. Fili near tripped over his own feet and made a show of shaking life back into his legs on his way to the podium. There was a moment cursory fussing with monitors before the Prince straitened up and smiled at the whole room. He had a rather lovely smile; he seemed to be laughing at the world and at himself in equal measure.

He spoke very well too. Admittedly it was about the efforts Erebor was undertaking to ensure sustainable and ecologically sound methods of mining, mineral extraction and quarrying, but Sigrid could appreciate a good presentation delivery skill set.

Among other things.

He really _was_ rather handsome. She was taller in her courtroom heels but, she reckoned they’d be about level if she were barefoot. Bare legged. OK, Sigrid had to rein in that train of thought in before it started to show on her face. She took a long savouring look at Fili was he strode amiably around the stage. Golden as the sun...Wide shoulders and narrow hips… Arms she could hang off… Beard burn.

She could feel her own expression going smokey and cleared her throat as quietly as she could, straightening in her seat. Oh yes she could do such terrible things to that man … thought the biggest virgin in the room. She sighed. It was her lot in life to be pure of the touch of another and have the sort of mind that considered the gutter a penthouse apartment.

Guiltily she looked over at her phone again, half hiding under her notebook. Still dark, still no word from _MountainLion._ She was only ogling the Erebor representative to be fair. Yes, he might have been very kind to her in her hour of need, but she barely knew him. Besides that, he appeared to be a bit of a geek. That was nice to know. Very nice.

Suddenly Fili appeared in her mind in a Thor cosplay and she had to disguise her snort as a sneeze. The Fili on stage hesitated a little in his sentence on water maintenance procedures to look in her direction. A blush not entirely down to being the sudden centre of attention crawled up her neck and she waved a hand in apology. He raised his eyebrows in a ‘you sure?’ sort of way before taking a breath and forging on. Oh yes, he was very nice.

Sigrid smiled slightly when Iron Hills got a mention and Dain roared his agreement from the tiered seats, Fili pointing his way in good natured acknowledgement, never breaking his stride. Yes, he could be tucked away into the little fantasy box in her head, yes please. He wouldn’t replace _MountainLion_ as a source of comfort any time soon, but there’s comfort and _comfort_ , and a girl’s gonna have both.

Sigrid clapped with the rest of the audience when his report came to a close. She’d actually quite enjoyed it, when she’d been listening rather than objectifying him beyond all decency from within the safety of her brain. She hadn’t understood all of the terminology but she felt she had an overview of what they were trying to achieve. She had to commend their efforts and it sounded like they were taking the concerns about accidental waterways contamination exceedingly serious. As one whose expertise fell more into environmental and biodiversity conservation and world health, she appreciated their efforts to prevent any sort of negative impact.

She couldn’t help but laugh as, when Fili had sat down to the last of the applause, Dain reached over, broadcasting that he was going in for a manly pat on the shoulder, and caught Fili unawares with an arm around his neck and hauled him sideways into what must have been a truly epic noogie. Everyone else seem to ignore the delegates from the Iron Hills and Erebor swatting at each other, even as Fili howled for release and Dain’s laugh rolled around the room like amicable thunder. Under the cover of the spectacle that the North-East were providing, the Lady Galadriel had taken to the stage and with the air of a strict but much liked school mistress, brought the room to order with only a look. Sigrid wanted to be Lady Galadriel when she grew up.

The buzz of her phone was muffled slightly by the handkerchief she’d cushioned it with, but she heard it and carefully she drew it out from under cover and into her lap. Her Raven graphic preened on its’ perch, a new message from _MountainLion_ tied to its’ leg.

 **ML** \- _Sorry for the radio silence! In class, was giving my assessed presentation. You still there? You’ve not died of boredom have you?_

 **LotL** \- _I’m still here… Barely. Actually to be fair a couple have been OK, there’s been a few who just read off the slides. Why even bother? Just print it off and hand it around._

 **ML** \- _Amen to that._

 **ML** \- _Why on earth are they bludgeoning you with PowerPoint on the first day?_

Sigrid stilled for a second and frown at the projection wall, before which Galadriel was outlining her concerns for Lothlórien and its’ aging population. He'd ask her questions like this every now and again. It was like he was trying to trip her up in a good natured sort of way, even though he'd never know it. She’d be at an opening for maternity ward once and that had raised quite the cyber eyebrow when she'd told him what she'd been doing that day. She'd spun a quick line about work experience, translation and interpreters in hospitals. It had gotten to the point where she no longer considered it lying, more dancing with the truth. It was keeping her mind sharp at least.

 **LotL** \- _Sort of dossiers on our most frequent clients, the usual publishers that use us, procedures for qualifying authenticity of a source text, that sort of thing._

 **ML** \- _Oh right, so important stuff?_

Sigrid quirked a smile down at the screen.

 **LotL** \- _Yeah, pretty important._

 **ML** \- _And yet you are talking to me!? I am touched, proud and a little appalled._

 **LotL** \- _Well what about you, you slacker?! Isn’t this an assessed class?_

 **ML** \- _Yes, but I've already given mine so I can kick back and chill._

 **LotL** \- _Well it’s alright for some!_

 **LotL** \- _Did it go well? What was it on?_

 **ML** \- _I think it went well. No one is reported to have died of boredom during my stint._

 **ML** \- _It was on sustainable mining and quarrying in Erebor, paying attention to the biosecurity risks to the River Running._

Sigrid’s hand had frozen over the screen, hovering half an inch from the reply icon. Well, that… That was strange.

She wasn’t sure how long she stared at her phone but she knows she didn’t really see it. It had gone strangely hushed inside her brain, as if she could heard the very faintest rumbling of approaching water but already the sluice gates had clanged shut. There was an idea forming, and Sigrid was doing her utmost not to look directly at it. Sigrid purse her lips and stared at the message while at the same time a voice in her brain was stating loudly and firmly, ‘ _don't even think about, do not even consider, no, do not_.’

She steeled herself, took a fortifying breath and tapped the preening Raven.

 **LotL** \- _Bit of an odd topic for a Poli-Sci Masters isn't it?_

She tapped send, marshalling her breathing against her frantically beating of her heart and her eyes slid over to the other side of the tier seats of their volition.

She couldn't see much of the Crown Prince of Erebor, only the back quarter or so of his profile from the left. But she could see the underside of his desk top light up with the glow of a phone screen.

Sigrid snapped her attention back to the front of the room in an effort to not swallow her own tongue. ‘ _It could be anything_ ,’ the sensible little voice in her brain said. ‘ _It’s not a Raven, and it is most definitely not your Raven. The odds are too great and the world is rarely that kind. Stop it_.’ Her phone buzzed again but she didn't look at it immediately. She instead watched the glow under Fili’s table shift and him return his attention to the front of the room again.

 **ML** \- _Part of the land management and law module._

 **LotL** \- _Huh._

It was about all she could manage at this point. Huh. Right. She felt slightly ill with tension. The majority her own brain was screaming at her but little rebel groups were storming key ideas for the good of the revolution.

Stormy blue eyes.

Mountain. The Lonely Mountain of Erebor.

Golden hair.

Lion. ‘The Lionheart Prince’.

The girl at lunch.

Hands shaking, Sigrid slowly typed. Just before pressing send, in an act of muted terror and strangled hope, she pressed her fingertips to her lips and pressed them to the beak of the Raven graphic above the message. It cocked its’ pixelated head and spread its’ wings when she pressed ‘send’.

 **LotL** \- _How's the girl you saved this lunch doing? Is she in your lecture? She alright?_

The glow under the table flared. Fili’s head dipped forward a little and Sigrid stopped breathing. A few seconds and his head came back up.

And he looked over his shoulder.

Right at her.

Sigrid managed to avert her gaze just before he was able to lock eyes with her, fixing her eyes blindly on Galadriel’s presentation screen.

He was looking at her.

He was looking right at her.

 _MountainLion_ was looking right at her. Possibly. Maybe.

Oh Gods, if this was all coincidences she was going to have a heart attack. The voice in her brain was still screaming even if it was rapidly losing ground to panic. Her phone buzzed.

 **ML** \- _Yes, she’s here._

Sigrid closed her eyes and let out a rattling breath.

 **ML** \- _She’s not looking too shiny actually. She's shredding her notes and I don't think she even realises it._

Sigrid jerked and looked down at her hands. She’d twisted them bloodless around a few sheets of loose notebook paper.

 **ML** \- _Oh, she's noticed the note confetti._

 **ML** \- _Oh, by the Maker, she looks like she’s going to cry._

She bit down of the inside of her own cheek, hard, and flexed her hands, wincing as her knuckles creaked at the release of tension.

 **ML** \- _I need to go speak to her don’t I. I can’t get to her right this moment, but I need to make this better._

He looked around at her again as surreptitiously as he could, worry in every line of his handsome face. That was _MountainLion_ looking at her. That was Crown Prince of Erebor looking at her. That was Fili looking at her. And all of them had an expression of deep concern for her. She gave a watery smile and wiggled her fingers in a small wave. The smile he gave her was soft and reassuring, and he tipped his head in a small nod to her before turning back around to face the front.

 **ML** – _Got a smile and a wave out of her, but she looks a bit shaky._

 **ML** – _I’ll see if I can talk to her after lectures. Don’t want to send her bolting by doing something stupid._

 **ML** – _Nimue?_

 **ML** – _Nimue, what should I do?_

 **ML** – _You there?_

 **ML** – _Nimue?_

 **LotL** – _Yes, I’m here._

 **ML** – _Nimue, how are you? Are you alright? Do you have someone to talk to?_

 **LotL** – _I’ll be better soon._

 **LotL** – _Hopefully. I think._

 **ML** – _Nimue?_

 **LotL** – _Simba? Do something for me?_

 **ML** – _Anything._

Sigrid stared at his reply. Anything. Do anything for her.

She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed with everything she had that it stretched to being kind to her when he found her. When he found out who she was.

 **LotL** – _Go to her. Talk to her when you can._

 **ML** – _Nimue? What about you?_

 **LotL** – _Please._

 **ML** – _Yes xx._

Another outbreak of polite applause brought Sigrid crashing back to herself. She hastily wiped under her eyes and sniffed heavily, clapping with everyone else. President Peredhil took to the floor once again, thanking the speakers for their work and effort and the audience for their attentiveness. Sigrid did not have anything in her to waste on feeling guilty about that. It had all gone eerily hushed inside her own skull and everything else outside was roaring somehow, as if she was hearing it through high winds. She stood, unsteady with nerves and from slightly dead legs, and leaned heavily against the desk. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Fili unhook his coat off the back of his chair and slip into it, catching and murmuring something to Dain before heading purposefully up the stairs towards her.

‘You are coming to dinner with us!’

Sigrid thought idly, as she pushed herself away from the desk she’s pretty sure she’d bruised her kidneys on, that she really needed to stop getting startled. She must be the personification of a strung wire right about now. Legolas stood at her elbow, his own briefcase neatly in hand, umbrella handle hooked over his forearm and dove grey pea coat already buttoned up.

‘Come on,’ he said briskly but not unkindly, starting to sweep her belongings into her briefcase for her, giving it a brief shake to settle everything, snapping the clasps closed and transferred it neatly to be carried next to his own and extended his elbow to her. Sigrid flicked her eyes over Legolas’ shoulder.

Fili had hung back at the very end of the row, not encroaching, a dark navy scarf gripped between his hands, his eyes not leaving her face. She couldn’t make out his expression. It wasn’t quite guarded, it wasn’t quite confusion.

Suddenly Fili’s face was replaced by a woman’s; dark haired, rather beautiful and much closer to Sigrid’s own. ‘I know an excellent vegan place and I think you deserve a nice meal out after the day you’ve had.’

She looped an arm through Sigrid’s and next thing she know she’d been turned around and was being frog-marched up the stair and towards the double doors. Sigrid cast a desperate look over her shoulder only to catch Legolas’ eye roll and smile as he made to follow on. Fili hadn’t moved, and she held his eye as best she could until he passed out of sight.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To be fair, maybe it had been a blessing in disguise for Legolas and Arwen to strong-arm her away at that point. In hindsight, she had no battle plan. She had no clue what to say to him, she didn’t know how to break it to him, that his online persona wasn’t as anonymous as it had been at the beginning of the day. She may very well just have stood there and done any number of terrible, ridiculous things that she didn’t want to contemplate. So retreat and regroup. Just for now

She walked tiredly back through the Imladris Parliamentary Buildings guest quarters feeling very wrung out. So she’d had the stress of the role and its’ responsibilities, she’d been molested by a man that was both older than her father and a monster, _and_ she’d had a major revelation that had led to truly tectonic levels of emotional upheaval. She really hoped her room had a mini-bar. And Wi-Fi. She needed to binge watch something nice and fluffy. ‘ _Pushing Daisies_ ’. She’d continue with ‘ _Pushing Daisies_ ’. _MountainLion_ had recommended it to her and she was half way through the first series-

Fili.

It had repeatedly hit her over the course of the afternoon and evening. _MountainLion_ was Fili. Fili had recommended, well demanded, that she watched ‘ _Pushing Daisies_ ’, Fili was who she’d hashed out Pratchett plot lines with, Fili who’d been there for her on the 10th anniversary of her Ma’s death, Fili who’d confided in her about his terror for his little brother in the Air Force, Fili who’d made her that mixtape playlist for her last birthday. She smiled a little at the memory, watching the toes of her court shoes sinking into the hallway’s plush carpet.   

It had been a nice dinner with Legolas and his friend Arwen though. Turned out they’d known each other for years, been at school together. They were very scintillating conversationalist the pair of them, wanting to engage her in discussions on history, art, music, anything that came into their ridiculously beautiful heads. They’d put her at ease between them and then Da and Thranduil had FaceTime’d them from Tol Eressëa. The restaurant had been quiet enough that the three of them had been able to shuffle round Legolas’ smart pad and see them.

Da was looking so well, the sun and the company was obviously doing him good. And she was going to draw a veil over that thought before it progressed too far. She was so happy for Da and Thranduil and that they’d found what they have with each other, but honestly no child wanted to consider the concept of their parent having a sex life for any amount of time. It had been a lovely evening and she’d gotten to socialise with Legolas a little more without their respective father present.

She had put her foot down about the vegan thing however. She’d had a rough day and she needed meat. She needed to bite into the flesh of another creature and taste its’ life force. Not the best thought to cross the mind of an advocate for animal rights, ethical farming and global biodiversity conservation, but she was allowed to be a dichotomy damn it. She was owed that much surely. It wasn’t like she was leading a double life…..

Well, as _LadyoftheLake_ , she had been. She’d had a message this evening.

 **ML** – _Missed her, she seemed to be in good hands._

She wanted a shower, a cathartic cry, a cup of tea or something stronger, and the romantic, morbid escapades of a pair of lovers who could never touch…

Sigrid stopped suddenly, tipping her head back and groaning softly. No wonder she found it so consoling.

She found her room door after a few minutes of wandering and had just put her key in the lock when he appeared at the end of the corridor.

‘Princess Sigrid.’

She didn’t have the energy to jump and to perfectly honest, at this stage in the day, she felt she didn’t owe it to anyone. She turned to the end of the corridor and there he was. The jacket and tie were gone and his sleeves were rolled up to the elbow. She took a moment to appreciate the reveal of forearm and throat before her brain realised what was happening and put a stop to that nonsense.

‘Prince Fili.’

She tried to sound happy to see him, because, at the core of it, she was, but she just sounded tired. She put on the best smile she could muster at this point and turned to learn her back against her door. Fili walked slowly up the corridor to stand before her, half a hallway’s width between them and an unsure smile on his own face.

‘How are you this evening?’

Sigrid spoke before the silence could set. ‘I’m quite well, thank you. I have to admit, I’ve found today a little overwhelming.’

Fili dropped his chin with an amused huff and the smile became just that little bit more sincere. ’Afraid the actual game of it doesn’t really get much easier, but you’ll get the gist of the rules and the teams soon enough. At least you don’t need to prepare an address this time around.’

‘No, and may I say congratulations on your presentation this afternoon. I found it rather interesting.’

Fili blinked and his head jerked a little in surprise. Internally, Sigrid gave a little fist pump. Finally, she’d surprised someone else today.

‘Really?’ Fili crossed his arms over that broad chest and gave her a look of mild incredulity.

Sigrid nodded. ‘I didn’t understand 100% of your technical terminology, but I value your country’s efforts to minimise the consequences of negative environmental impacts in your operations. And I’m very impressed you managed to eradicate the threat of deforestation.’     

She’d barely finished before Fili had uncrossed his arms and thrust both his fists into the air, head thrown back and walking in a loose circle, right there in the middle of the hallway. ‘Someone actually listened!’ he all but sang. ‘Someone actually retained some of my information!'

Sigrid wasn’t able to stop the snort of laughter that made it past her lips. She clamped a hand over her mouth but her shoulders shook with the effort. Fili’s little impromptu victory lap came to a close when he lowered his arms to his sides and gave her a look that made her world go soft at the edges.

‘There we go,’ his said, his voice a gentle burr. ‘That’s better. I have to admit, I’ve been worrying about you this afternoon, after your ordeal at lunch.’ Sigrid dropped her gaze and fiddled self-consciously with the cuff of her blouse, as he carried on. ‘I would have fully supported your choices if you’d stabbed him with a fork and dove head first out of a window.‘ Sigrid couldn’t help but laugh again and this time, she didn’t bother to smother it.

‘That’s very kind of you,’ she said and watched as his head cocked ever so slightly to the side. ‘I’m just glad Elrond’s got him off the property and into custody.’ She watched as the relaxed nature of Fili’s stance was gradually eaten away by tension. ‘That sort of thing genuinely upsets you, doesn’t it?’

Fili didn’t bluster or grandstand, he just nodded sadly. ‘So angry,’ he said darkly, ‘I get so angry.’   

Before she knew what she was doing, Sigrid had pushed off the door and had closed the distance to them, wrapping a hand around his broad palm and giving it a quick squeeze before the rest of her body caught on and demanded that her hand got its’ act together and she let go as casually as she could manage.

Fili blinked at her again, a little owlishly, then huffed as small incredulous laugh of his own. ‘There’s something not quite right here,’ he said shaking his head. ‘Surely, I’m meant to be the one offering support to you?’

Sigrid swallowed thickly around a throat that was starting to cinch closed. She could feel her frayed nerves bleeding the fizzing sensation into her blood. Time to test the water.

Her voice wavered a little but she held his gaze as she carefully said, ‘Your Mama raised you right.’

She saw the moment that something flickered in his eyes, there and gone, like a cloud hurtling across the sun. Had it worked? Was his brain experiencing the beginnings of a cascade effect as hers had? Was he not looking directly at his own instincts like she'd done? Sigrid fidgeted a little under the combination of his gaze and the expression that gives nothing away. He finally offered another small smile and nodded his head.

‘That she did,’ he said sagely. ‘I just wish she’d gotten to the rest of the races as well.’ He rubbed his knuckles against his jaw idly and continued to look at her in a way that made her want to raise her chin in defiance. Fili backed down first. He looked down the empty corridor, stroked his hand over his chin before slipping both hands into the pockets of his suit trousers. He rocked on his heels ever so slightly and Sigrid tried to breathe while his attention was off her.

‘Well,’ he stated, ‘I know it’s late and you’ve had a long day-‘

‘You sound like you’re about to send me off to bed!’, it was slightly hysterical, but it made him grin at her once again so she didn’t care.

‘I have half a mind to,’ and oh sweet mercy, was that meant to be a ‘Dad voice’?! Actually, it kinda did sound like King Thorin…

‘But I just wanted to say that I hope you are alright after today.’

‘I am,’ she blurted, hand making another aborted leap for him. ‘I am, I promise. I spoke to Da, umm, I spoke to my father this evening and Prince Legolas is a good friend, he and Arwen took me out for a meal to unwind.’

Fili may have noticed to tension starting to intrude on her calm because his question of, ‘Did it work?’ sounded like he already knew the answer.

‘Eh… a little?’ Sigrid sighed and dropped her head forward, rubbing a hand over her tired eyes. ‘I think it’s just everything. I intend to go and have a hot shower and a cup of tea and go to bed,’ she muttered to the carpet.

‘Alright,’ he lowered his voice and Sigrid looked up to see that he’d closed the space between them once more. ‘If you need anything, at any time, I’m in Room 82 and Dain’s in 73 just across from me.’ He pointed down the corridor the way he’s come and crooked his finger to the left.

‘I'll leave you to get some well-deserved rest.’ He held out a hand and Sigrid didn’t hesitate to slip her hand into his, feeling calluses under the pads of her fingers. He bowed his head over her hand and pressed a light kiss to her knuckles. When he straighten up, he seemed to start at just how close they were. He searched her face for a second before breathing out ‘Sleep well, Your Highness’ and squeezed her hand before stepping away, casting her one more strangely guarded look before heading down the corridor.

Inside Sigrid’s brain, everything was coming back online and the in resulting power surge, she came to a number of conclusions.

He was walking away, and she was not prepared to allow that to happen.

She wasn’t prepared to deal with this knowledge on her own any longer.

If it was left like this, she wouldn’t sleep.

And, the Green Lady preserve her, she loved him. Crown Prince of Erebor, _MountainLion_ , Fili. She loved him.

She needed time, he was nearly at the corner and then he’d disappear until tomorrow. She needed him to stop, she needed to think!

‘Fili!’

She flinched at her own volume but he stopped and turned back around to face her. He didn’t say anything, just waited patiently for her to continue. Sigrid swallowed thickly and a ‘Thank you’ managed to shove past the lump in her throat on the way out.

Fili just closed his eyes, before inclining his head to her and smiling wearily at her. ‘You are more than welcome, Your Highness.’ He turned to leave again, still smiling at her over his shoulder.

The words fell out of her like they were being pursued.

‘Thank you for the playlist!’   

There was sudden flurry of energy, then nothing. At the end of the hall, Fili had spun to face her again, shoulders back and arms at his sides. Then he stilled. The promise of movement was in every line of his body but he didn’t move from his spot. Confusion, doubt and shock all warred for dominance on his face, a frown pulling at those golden brows, over those cloudy blue eyes.

‘The playlist you made for me for my 22nd birthday in June,’ the words were coming as rapidly now as her breathing. ‘Brave the Water, Brave the Stone? I played all the songs non-stop. I had it playing whilst I was getting ready for the official state ball and I thought Hilda-Bianca was going to throw my phone out the window!’

Fili had broken out of whatever frozen state he’d been in and started covering the distance in a quick prowl and, oh lords, she can see why he went with _Lion_. She shoved her hand into her blazer pocket and wrapped her fingers around her phone there, as if it was some sort of talisman.

Because it was all going to change now, wasn’t it. They knew now. They knew that the kind soul they’d been chatting to for nearly a year, wasn’t someone normal. The anonymity was lost. Like an idiot she’d thrown the door of the darkroom open and the light was going to spoil everything. He was never going to talk to her again. She was going to lose all three of him. And she didn’t think she could take that. He was her safe haven and her last bastion of sanity when it all got too much. She was going to get blank spaces where there ought to be colour and she was going to be left with nothing but fluttering strips of negatives to remember the last 10 months by and she still couldn’t stop talking!

‘I think it was the best present I’d ever gotten, made for me by a friend. I’ve played it on every rough day and thought of you. I’ve thought of you every day. At the weirdest times, I think ‘what witty one-liner would he have for this’?’

She didn’t know when she’d closed her eyes but the air stirred in front of her and she resolutely did not look. ‘You’ve helped me through some really difficult times and you’ve brightened my days more times than I can count and thank you and I’m so sorry! I’m sorry, I’m-’

‘Nimue?’

And there it went. With Fili’s croaked question, the last of Sigrid’s little mental defences, the last little ‘no way, what are the odds?’s, the last ‘he’ll just think you’re loopy’s fell away. The sob took her by surprise and she clapped both hands over her mouth, bringing her phone up and out the safety of her pocket. She opened her watering eyes long enough to unlock her phone and call up her Raven. She proffered it out towards him, still not looking up and he took it wordlessly from her slack fingers.   

The silence pressed in on Sigrid’s eardrums as Fili ran a fingertip reverently over the screen of her phone. She watched the play of light from the screen dance in his eyes and heard the little Raven graphic give a soft caw.

‘Lady of the Lake?’ Fili’s voice was reaching her strangled and unsteady.

‘Nimue?’ He looked up at her. ‘Sigrid?’

She didn’t know what to say in return. She couldn’t deny it and there was no point in confirming. They just stared at each other, each wearing, though they weren’t to know it, matching expressions of mingled shock, muted horror and strangled hope.

Once again, Fili broke first. He closed his eyes and straightened, taking a deep, fortifying breath. As he did, Sigrid realised just how light headed she’d gotten. She pressed a hand to the door behind her to steady herself. But Fili didn’t see this. Eyes still closed and still breathing evenly, he tapped her phone against his thinned lips twice, before extending it out for her to take back without a word. Sigrid clenched her jaw against any and all sounds that may make an escape. She was not going to cry. Not now. She could wait until he was a corridor away and she was in the safety of her room. She was going to hold it together. She was a Princess. And anyway, she’d shown too much of a vulnerable flank as it was with this little display. She’d allow herself one night to grieve, is all. She wrapped her fingers around the end of her phone, and choked when she drew it back and it slipped through her fingers. Fili hadn’t let go of the end he was holding.

‘Sigrid’, he said lowly and urgently, still not looking at her. ‘What was the fourth track on the playlist I made you?’

Sigrid felt the blood drain from her face. He had the nerve to quiz her on this? Now? While he was well on his way to breaking her heart clean in two? She squashed her initial rage and let it burn white and waiting in her chest.

‘Ilúvatarian Fire’s _On Top Of The World_ ,’ she whispered, trying to keep out of her voice just how much it stung. She reached for her phone and tugged again, but he didn’t let go. A sigh left him in a rush and she felt it flutter on her face, disturbing the curls at her temples. He opened his eyes and they were so full of vulnerability and trust that it winded her. He made no move to touch her or come closer, the only point of contact Sigrid’s phone gripped between them 

‘Here I am,’ he half sang, the words hesitant and stumbling, ‘living a dream that I can’t hold.’

She understood. She took her phone from his unresisting hand, pocketed it and opened her arms to him.

The strength he brought to the embrace knocked them both into Sigrid’s room door. One of his hands cushioned the impact for her, cradling the back of her head and resting between her and the wood. His other arm wrapped around and under her ribs, his hand splayed between her shoulder blades. He was so warm and Sigrid could feel herself going boneless in his arms. Sigrid could hear shaking breaths and realised he was trembling.

How many times had he written, saying he wished he could hug her when she’d so desperately needed it? How many times had it been him that truly needed to be held? Sigrid tightened her own arms around him and squeezed back, turning her face into his hair. He smelled like wood smoke. She pressed her nose just behind his ear and closed her eyes, trying to soothe his shaking by rubbing circles into his shoulder blades.

‘Sigrid?’ Sigrid began to pull away but Fili’s arms stiffened around her. ‘No. Sorry. Please stay,’ he said, nervousness was thick in his voice. Sigrid settled her arms around his shoulders and gave a little reassuring squeeze. She could quite happily stay for the rest of the summit, right here, in this hallway, in Fili’s arms. She wasn’t quite sure what her heart was doing. It had been throwing itself her against her ribs for most of the day and now it had been told it could stop. It felt bruised and weightless all at once, a hollowed out space in her chest that was undeniably filled with something.

‘Sigrid,’ Fili tried again, murmuring the words into her hair. ‘I have something I need to say, but I need to say it like this. I know I’m being a coward, but I need to say it now and if we move I may never get my nerve back.’ She heard him swallow thickly and the air next to her ear shivered.

‘Sigrid. I’m in love with you.’

Sigrid may not have known what her heart had been doing, but whatever it was, it’d stopped.

‘I’ve been in love with you for about 6 months now.’ Sigrid stared straight ahead as Fili growled as his words failed him. After a few seconds of silence, he tried yet again. ‘Sigrid, I very much want to kiss you right now.’ As Sigrid went rigid in his arms, it seemed to knock something loose in him. ‘Now I completely understand if you don’t!,’ the words coming thin and fast. ‘I completely understand if you just want to keep this platonic, or if you never want to speak to me again after this, the Maker knows, with the day you’ve had, that sort of thing coming from someone you’ve just met in person. Just let me know what you need and I’ll do it.’

He loved her.

He wanted to kiss her.

He was holding her so tenderly and would to let her go if she said no.

Was this for her? Was she going to be able to keep him?

She felt movement against her cheek and she felt him screw his eyes shut and clench his jaw. ‘Sigrid, please, say something.’

Sigrid let her eyes slip closed for a moment, just luxuriating in his warmth a second more before squeezing and letting her arms slip free. She felt more then saw Fili’s defeat. His arms falling slowly and the tension slipped off him like loose earth and he exhaled shakily, his head dropping from her shoulder as she drew back ever so slightly and taking a moment before coming up once more to meet her eyes. He blinked a few times and tried to smile crookedly at her.

When that failed him, he went to say something but whatever it was curdled and died in his throat in a croak and his eyes flaring wide as Sigrid slid a hand against the grain of his beard, pressing her thumb over his lips. She didn’t dare take her eyes off him, off the man she’d loved for months, so, not looking, she hooked off first one, then the other burgundy court shoe. With the inches they offered lost, she needed to look up ever so slightly to look into Fili’s wide eyes.

If she thought about this for even a second, she’d freak out.

Just one question needed answering: Did she want this?

More than anything.

She steeled her nerve, swiped her thumb across his bottom lip, bounced onto her toes a little and kissed him.

He could probably tell she hadn’t done this before. She’d come in a little too quick but if she’d gone in in increments, she’d have bolted. She was holding onto his biceps to steady herself and her eyes were, well they weren’t screwed shut, but it was a close thing.

But she was kissing him. They were kissing. The man who’d sent her naughty limericks, and kept her company on days when she’d been an island, was kissing her. The thought made her smile against Fili’s lips, that he and _MountainLion_ were one and the same, and then Fili sighed through his nose, tilted his head and…

_Oh._

Fili eased her back down onto her feet, following her lips, pulling back only to place more encouraging little kisses to her mouth. One arm had slipped around her back again, holding her steady, half against him and his other hand was high on her cheek, his fingertips nestled in her hair. He eased back and Sigrid found herself following his lips blindly, nudging at his nose with hers. He gave a low chuckled and pressed another kiss to the corner of her mouth, working across, worrying her bottom lip with his teeth.

Unsure of what to do, Sigrid splayed one hand flat against the plane of his chest. She could feel his heat and the distinct thump of his heartbeat under her palm. The other found its’ way into his beard again, fingers carding along the line of his jaw, following the grain of the cropped, coarse hair as Fili continued to press kiss after kiss to her lips. The sensation of Fili’s beard and his smile under her fingertips was enthralling and Sigrid found that little fantasy box in her brain creaking open, wondering if the contact would feel as good on other parts of her. Her blood rising and getting the better of her, she pushed her hand into his hair, raking her nails across his scalp.

Fili shuddered against her, his mouth going slack over hers for a second as he gave a muted growl. Emboldened, Sigrid did it again. She watched in fascination as Fili’s eyes darkened and he surged forward again, chasing his own breath into her mouth and behind her teeth. He tasted of warmth and she tried to mimic what he was doing as best as she could, but she soon found herself somewhat at his tender mercies and hanging on. Fili eased off once he realised that she was getting left behind, even as the hand on his chest slipped in at the open collar of his button down and she raked her nails through the chest hair she found there. Fili made a strangled noise and released her mouth, pressing his forehead against hers, their ragged breath dancing between them.

‘Minx,’ Fili croaked brokenly and Sigrid hid her grin against his cheek.

And froze.

Fili immediately went on alert. ‘Sigrid?’ He pulled back, one hand coming up to cup her cheek, his bliss already being tempered by concern. ‘Are you alright? What is it?’

Sigrid didn’t answer, just started over Fili’s shoulder to the end of the hallway and did her best to hide behind him when he turned to look.

President Peredhil stood at the end of the corridor, idly inspecting the documents in his hand. His half-moon spectacles were perched on the end of his nose and he looked over them to address the pair when he had their full attention.

‘It has been a very long and trying first day, Your Highnesses,’ he said, eyes sliding from Fili’s stricken face to Sigrid’s.  ‘Might I suggest you take the opportunity to rest up for what to tomorrow brings?’

Like teenagers caught fumbling behind the bike sheds by the headmaster, the crowned heirs to two of the Union Realms’ most prominent kingdoms bobbed and muttered ‘Yes Sir’s….

But didn’t actually make any attempt to move...

Elrond stared from one to the other, both of them avoiding his gaze. He sighed. ‘Do inform myself or a member of the housekeeping staff if you require anything. Good night.’

And with that, he returned his attention to the papers in hand and proceeded along the corridor and out of sight.

Fili staggered back and joined Sigrid in leaning against the wall. He thumped his head against the wall, once, twice. ‘I refuse to believe that just happened’, he muttered. ‘The last 20 seconds were a shared hallucination, okay?’

’20 seconds?’ Sigrid moaned. ‘Is that all? It felt like a lifetime. Oh, Green Lady preserve me, how long had he been standing there?’

‘I don’t want to know! It didn’t happen! Hallucination,’ Fili reiterated, a hand over his eyes while the other unerringly finding her wrist.    

Sigrid turned her hand and interlaced their fingers like it was nothing, just something they did. Fili looked down at their hands and squeezed. ‘I know we should rest, and you deserve to sleep for a week, but I just can’t bring myself to stop touching you right now.’

Sigrid shuffled closer to his side and twined their arms around one another, pulling them flush so they stood touching from shoulder to hip. ‘I know what you mean. I’ve just found you Simba.’ she gave him a tremulous smile but her grip remained steady, ‘I don’t want to let you go in case I wake up tomorrow and it’s all been for nothing.’

They stood in silence for a few minutes, backs to the hallway wall outside Sigrid’s suite. She was feeling warm and sleepy, and as wrung out as she ever wanted to get. She did her best to hide the first yawn when it came but Fili wasn’t fooled.

‘You should sleep.’

‘Don’t want to, too wired.’ Before she could think too long on it she asked, ‘Would you like to come in?’

Fili’s mouth dropped and Sigrid hurried on before she could die of embarrassment. ‘For a sit down? And a cuppa?’

The click of Fili’s jaw snapping shut was audible. ‘Don’t you want to get some rest?’ He didn’t sound over fond of his own argument.

‘I was going to have a cup of tea and watch something fluffy to unwind. Before you… wound… me further.’

Sigrid heard the slide of gloss wallpaper and Fili’s head was resting on top of hers. ‘This isn’t too much for you, is it? We’re not moving too fast?’

She shook her head, jostling the additional weight on top of her curls. ‘No,’ she said lightly. ‘I’ve been gone on you for a long while now too. Probably should have broadcast that before the kissing thing…. Sorry.’

‘I very much enjoyed the kissing thing, never apologise for the kissing thing.’

Fili raised Sigrid’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. ‘So, what’s on The Box then?’

‘I was feeling ‘ _Pushing Daisies_ ’.’

The smile that infused Fili’s face made him glow. ‘You’re watching it? Where abouts have you got to?’

‘The horse racing one?’

‘Still pretty early on. The next one is really good.’ He pushed off from the wall and towed her after him. ‘You know, I kinda thought of it as ‘our’ story.’

‘Two people who had to keep a certain distance between themselves? Or do you raise the dead and bake pies?’

He ducked his head. ‘The former. And,’ his tone made her pause with her hand over her key, ‘the fact that I couldn’t touch you was slowly killing me.’

Sigrid squeezed his hand again and pressed a kiss to his cheek. ‘Come on in,’ she murmured. ‘No need to cling film wrap here.’

**Author's Note:**

> Please know that Elrond caught both Sigrid's father and Fili's uncle in very similiar situations at previous summit meetings. Thankfully not with each other.
> 
> Also, the first person to say 'Netflix and chill' will be shot. Be told.
> 
> This was ment to be maybe 2k at most. What the frick happened?

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] You Have A Raven](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9979997) by [flandersmare](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flandersmare/pseuds/flandersmare)




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